I Wholeheartedly Support Adam Smith and Lisa Wolf for Light Commission

I wholeheartedly support Adam Smith and Lisa Wolf for Light Commission. In my opinion, they are the best candidates to help us create and sustain a resilient, well-managed infrastructure that can continue to supply reliable, low cost electricity to Marblehead residents.

Having grown up in Marblehead, I always took electricity for granted. When I moved to California in 1986, that all changed. I experienced 30 years of earthquakes, fires, and floods that interrupted power for days at a time. When I moved back to Marblehead in 2018, I was impressed by the crew of the Marblehead Light Department who always seemed to get our power back on before other towns during storms.

Then came the fall of 2022. The power to the whole town went out for several hours when a tree fell on the main line bringing power into town. Because of this event, I became aware that with increasing storms due to climate change, our town had become vulnerable to more frequent power outages. I also became aware that past Light Commissions had failed to properly plan and had allowed our infrastructure (transformers, power lines, poles, etc.) to decay past their replacement dates.

Decades of deferred maintenance have left our system unable to support increased demand from electric and hybrid vehicles and heat pumps, which residents are being incentivized to acquire by federal and state funded programs to meet carbon reduction goals.

Adam has a background in technology and innovation that qualifies him to provide guidance regarding critical aspects of infrastructure upgrades, such as new software, security, and protection from cyber threats. Lisa is an environmental engineer who serves as Sustainability Coordinator for the Wellesley Light Plant, experience that is clearly highly relevant to her role on the Commission. Please consider casting your vote for these two well-qualified candidates for Light Commission on June 20.

Amy Hirschkron

Abbot Court